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About joeshusterawards

The Joe Shuster Awards are run by the Canadian Comic Book Creator Awards Association. The CCBCAA is a not-for-profit organization that relies on sponsorship, eBay and convention sales of prints and memorabilia or private donations.

I figured that perhaps I should do one of these as well… who am I?I am the organizer/coordinator and a co-founder of the Joe Shuster Awards. I’ve been a longtime reader and collector of comics and graphic novels, but I’ve been a self-publisher, a seller/dealer, a convention owner/runner, a price guide adviser, and for the last five years I’ve also been coordinating the Canadian guests and programming at Canadian comics events like Fan Expo Canada.

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I’m the cartoonist of the graphic novels TWO GENERALS, NORTHWEST PASSAGE, and the THREE THIEVES series, and a commercial illustrator whose clients have included McDonald’s, Reebok, Macy’s, Rogers, The New York Daily News, The National Post, The Toronto Star, and Maclean’s. When I’m not doing either of those things, I teach Writing for Graphic Novels at Max the Mutt Animation School in Toronto.

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I am the co-creator and co-writer of IDW Publishing’s Kill Shakespeare, an adventure series that mashes up the Bard’s greatest heroes and villains. The Shuster- and Harvey Award nominated-series has received a great deal of critical acclaim and profiles in the New York Times, Washington Post, Colbert Report, CBC, BBC and Publisher’s Weekly. Prior to working on Kill Shakespeare I spent time in the music (as a manager for Nelly Furtado and other artists), television and film industries.

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Tell us about yourself – a brief bio/intro.Hey I’m Alice Quinn, I founded and I manage TdotComics.ca in 2009, a website about comics in Toronto. I attend a lot of events and talk to a lot of creators, I am currently 21.Continue reading →

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Jerry Robinson was the keynote speaker at the first Joe Shuster Awards ceremony in 2005 (pictured above) and the third in 2007. Jerry was a key factor in the foundation of the Joe Shuster Awards and the recognition of the life and work of his friend Joe Shuster. Rest in Peace, Jerry.

Sad news coming from the U.S., as it seems that legendary American comic book creator Jerry Robinson passed away peacefully in his sleep last night.

We here at the Joe Shuster Awards owe a tremendous amount to Jerry, as he was a very keen supporter of the program from the onset and our condolences go out to his wife Gro and son Jens.

Jerry Robinson illustrated some of the defining images of pop culture’s greatest icons. As an artist myself, it’s impossible not to feel humbled by his body of work. Everyone who loves comics owes Jerry a debt of gratitude for the rich legacy that he leaves behind. (Jim Lee, DC Entertainment Co-Publisher and artist of BATMAN: HUSH)

Jerry Robinson was one of the greats. He continued to be a vibrant, creative force well into his nineties (Jerry Robinson would have been 90 years old on Jan.1, 2012), with ideas and thoughts that continue to inspire. Jerry was a great advocate for creators. It was my pleasure to meet and work with him. He will be missed.(Dan DiDio, Co-Publisher, DC Entertainment)

It’s impossible to work at DC Entertainment­ without feeling the impact of Jerry Robinson’s contributions to the industry. His influence continues to resonate today.(Bob Harras, DC Entertainment Editor-in-Chief)

Jerry Robinson was an innovator, a pioneer in storytelling. His artwork was always astonishing, but his contributions to the Dark Knight mythology go far beyond art. The streets of Gotham City are a little lonelier today…Jerry will truly be missed. (Mike Marts, Batman line editor)

Jerry Robinson passed away yesterday, just a few weeks shy of his 90th birthday. He was the last surviving member of the group of four men who created the mythology of Batman : Bob Kane, Bill Finger, Dick Sprang and Jerry Robinson. Jerry was Bob Kane’s first ghost artist, and probably the most important of the Batman artists of the Golden Age.

Along with writing partner Bill Finger, Jerry Robinson created the Joker, Alfred the Butler, Robin, the Batcave and a host of other important parts of Gotham City while Bob Kane watched from across the room and pretended to be the one doing it. Though Kane spent his life lying about the huge contributions that his partners made, comics historians did eventually see through the nonsense, and Robinson lived long enough to get his due as one of the seminal creators of our industry. There was at least THAT justice.

I had the rare chance to meet him a couple of times over the years, at awards ceremonies and conventions, etc, and Jerry was delightful and awe-inspiring company whenever I was fortunate enough to be around him. I’ll never forget the first thing he said to me, though: When I told him I was a Batman creator, writing and drawing the characters he helped create, he reached out to shake my hand and said (with a twinkle in his eye) “Where’s my cheque?”

Thank you, thank you, thank you, Jerry Robinson…my world would not be the same without having shared the planet with you for the last forty-eight years. You gave me a childhood filled with unbridled joy and fun and I cannot conceive of who I would have turned out to be if you’d never been there before me.

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Jim Zub is the Canadian-based co-creator and writer of Image Comics’ Skullkickers, an action-comedy fantasy series about two monster mashing mercenaries. He’s also the creator and writer of UDON Comics’ upcoming graphic novel Makeshift Miracle, currently serializing online at www.makeshiftmiracle.com. When not writing comics he helps manage projects at UDON and teaches animation-related courses at Seneca College in Toronto.

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Mike’s intro/bio: My name is Mike Del Mundo aka Deadly Mike (a name manifested from my bboy days) but I prefer being called Mike. I mainly do pretty covers for Marvel Comics and dabble in interiors once in a while. I also do illustration and Design work mainly for advertising and editorial. (Mike was also nominated for a Joe Shuster Award in 2011 for his 2010 covers).

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Valentine DeLandro is an Illustrator / artist / newborn diaper-strategist who has worked for Marvel Comics,and Devil’s Due Publishing. He’s relaunching his website valentinedelandro.com in January and can be followed on Twitter: @val_delandro

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With last week’s news about Wizard ditching October’s Central Canada Comic Con (a show that will continue under the guidance of the old owners), it seems that there are further changes afoot.

An eagle-eyed fan pointed out to us that according to the Wizard website, the dates for next year’s Wizard Toronto Comic Con have been revised. Originally announced for March 23-25, the former 3-day show has apparently dropped Friday from the schedule and will now be a two-day Saturday/Sunday event.

Other shows on their now reduced to 11-city world tour seem similarly changed. Only Austin (Nov. 2011) and Philadelphia (June 2012) remain as 3-day events. The Chicago event remains 4 days (mid-Aug. 2011) for now.

The benefit of a shortened schedule is that they can concentrate on maintaining their strong Saturday attendance, and the exhibitor rates should drop accordingly and hopefully help them fill the space. Reports from 2010 and 2011 events both indicated that Friday was slow and will not be missed.

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According to the Raven Toys and Comics blog, American promoter Wizard has dropped the Winnipeg based Central Canada Comic Con from their schedule. The show, purchased from the original owner last year, was to debut this October 28-30 under the Wizard World banner. Wizard had already announced some guests for the event.

A quick check of the Wizard World website confirms that the C4 event has been dropped from the schedule, along with some other US events that had no 2011/2012 dates. It’s unsure as to whether the other events have been cancelled or just taken off the schedule until such time that they can be properly promoted.

Recent twitters by Wizard staff confirm that the show has been unfortunately been taken off their show tour and that they will be releasing some kind of statement “soon”.

The show facebook group is currently a hot bed of discussion over what to do next and how to keep the show going, a mere four months from it’s planned dates — it now falls back to the former owners (who were to be the local contacts for the Wizard team) to decide what to do next. That owner, Raven Toys & Comics’ Michael Paille, has announced that he will try to keep the show alive by holding various fundraising efforts.

If you are in the Winnipeg area and want to help Michael maintain the C4, he’s looking for donations (cash, airmiles) to cover guests, etc. The hall is still being held for the announced dates, so hopefully he’ll be able to pull it off. Visit the Raven Toys & Comics blog link (in the first paragraph) for more details.

The only remaining Canadian show on the Wizard tour, the Toronto Comic Con is still on the schedule for late March 2012.

Not every comic city is engaging in a battle for attention. London, ON is holding it’s annual passport to FCBD event, where the comic shops in the city actually work together (…for the most part, 5 out of 6 is a great number…) for the good of the industry and the retail environment in the city.

Visit these 5 stores and the Central Branch of the London Public Library and get your passport stamped at each place, and drop your ballot off at the last stop for the draws! Winners will be announced on Monday May 9th, 2011.

The Library will be hosting the first official FCBD Costume Contest at 2:30 PM, open to all ages, register before 2:15PM. Prizes will be awarded in various age categories. $50 in gift certificates and Downtown Dollars for Best in Show in each category, $10 gift certificates for 2nd prizes in each category and graphic novels for the runners up! Prizes donated by the Comic Shop Crossover stores!

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The Superman vs. Muhammed Ali statue - based on the famous cover by Neal Adams

According to Postmedia News and other sources — Hobby Star Marketing, the Toronto based producers of the comics and pop culture event Fan Expo Canada (TM) have filed an injunction against the producers of the UFC Fan Expo taking place this weekend in Toronto at the Direct Energy Centre over the use of the name Fan Expo in Canadian markets, saying that UFC Fan Expo is too similar to Fan Expo Canada and infringes upon their trademark.

The UFC Fan Expo is produced by Reed Pop (who also produce the New York Comic Con and C2E2) for Kuffa, LLC the company that owns the Ultimate Fighting Championship. While other UFC Fan Expos have taken place elsewhere this is the first time one is being held in Canada. HSM, a sports marketing company as well as a producer of pop culture events, contests the use of the phrase “Fan Expo” as well as the slogan “the Ultimate Fan Experience”. HSM owner Aman Gupta, when contacted by PostMedia news, said:

We will do everything possible to protect our intellectual property and maintain the integrity of our event and our brand.

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The late Harry Kremer (1946-2002), owner of Kitchener, ON store Now & Then Books- portrait by his friend Dave Sim, colours by Paul McCusker.

On February 1st 10 stores were named as being in the running for the 2011 Harry Kremer Outstanding Canadian Retailer Award.

In order to move to the final round of consideration, the nominated retailers had to send in additional materials for the judging committee to consider by April 1st. Based on materials received, the 10 nominated stores have been narrowed down to a final 5, one of which will be selected as the Outstanding Canadian Comic Book Retailer – winner to be announced in Calgary on Saturday, June 18, 2011 where they will join an elite group of Canadian comic book stores that have earned the distinction since the award was founded in 2005: Happy Harbor Comics, Strange Adventures, Big B Comics, Legends Comics andThe Beguiling.

The Retailer Award Jury will also be selecting the following awards: OUTSTANDING CANADIAN PUBLISHER and GENE DAY CANADIAN SELF-PUBLISHER.

Named after the late Harry Kremer, original owner of Now & Then Books (in Kitchener, Ontario). Shops are recommended by the general public and a separate Retailer Award Committee reviews all materials received and select a short list of stores that has shown merit in a variety of categories such as: (1) Support of a wide variety of innovative material, (2) Overall appeal of the store and usage of space, (3) Knowledge,(4) Community activity, and (5) Adherence to standard ethical business practices.

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Guelph was the place to be on Saturday for anyone interested in independent comics, webcomics and zines. The Kazoo Fest Zine and Comic Expo saw more than forty creators (including Gene Day Noms Jason Bradshaw and Nick Maandag!) gather in the Norfolk United Church for this free event that drew a steady crowd out of the cold, wet weather. Originally started in 2008, this was the first year the Dragon sponsored the event and helped draw in comic creators from across the greater Toronto area. The event was a fantastic showcase for small press and zine creators that would usually get lost in the artist alley of larger conventions.

The after party that followed included Dragon owner Jennifer Haines delivering an updated version of her Women in Comics paper and the introduction of the Kazoo Fest Zine and Comic Awards. The award winners were chosen from books and zines that were submitted at the Expo on Saturday afternoon and the jury was made up of myself (Amy Chop, manager of the Dragon), Sam Ack from Kazoo and Lindsay Gibb from Broken Pencil magazine. The jury was also joined by some volunteers from the Joe Shuster Awards who helped out at the Dragon’s table during the day.

Summer Tears #1 by Harley R. Pageot and Andrea Manica

The winners were presented with their awards by event emcee Robert Haines and were as follows:

Best Debut: “Wich” Curated by Averill Smith

Best Comic: “Summer Tears #1” by Harley R. Pageot and Andrea Manica

Best Zine (written): “Team Dreams” by the Royal City Roller Girls

This was a great event and we hope to see everyone, and more, again next year!

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About Us

Comic books, like Jazz, are a North American invention that has been embraced all over the globe --- and from the Platinum Age to the present, Canadian artists, writers and cartoonists have been shaping it along the way.

The Joe Shuster Awards celebrate Canadians who create comics at home or abroad. They are named after Joe Shuster, the Canadian artist that co-created a character that has had tremendous impact on the industry and the world.

The Canadian Comic Book Creator Awards Association seeks to identify and provide FREE resources on the who, what, when and where of Canadians working in comics, selling comics, and celebrating comics.

What if a Canadian Creator Moves Away? Joe Shuster, Hal Foster – are they really Canadian?

Is Superman Canadian? Our position.

Taking us beyond the New Frontier: Darwyn Cooke (1962-2016)

Positive Spirit and Determination: Debra Jane Shelly (1974-2014)

Jerry Robinson (1922-2011)

Thank you, Jerry. We will miss you.

2014 Winners were announced on September, 2014 in Toronto (click image to see results)

2014 Winners Announced in Toronto

2013 Winners were announced on August 24, 2013 in Toronto (click image to see results)

2012 WINNERS ANNOUNCED ON 9/15/2012 IN MONTREAL (CLICK ON THE IMAGE FOR DETAILS)

2011 WINNERS ANNOUNCED ON 6/18/2011 IN CALGARY (CLICK ON THE IMAGE FOR DETAILS)